In this gripping melodrama, there is a fascinating dichotomy explored in the lives of sisters. Jane Rydert has become Sergeant Rydert of the Ridgewood police force. Her sister, Cassidy Laurel Rydert, has just been released from the Salem, Oregon Psychiatric Hospital after years of treatment, including shock therapy, after she apparently murdered her husband in cold blood.
Now, Cassidy comes to live with her Jane and her fiancé, Phil Martin, and Jane's daughter, Emily. There is palpable tension in every exchange between the sisters. The drama unfolds the backstory of their childhood and the tragic circumstances of the murder of Cassidy's husband. The strength of the film is a character-driven drama.
The filmmakers were successful in keeping the flashback scenes to an absolute minimum and focusing on the conflict between Jane and Cassidy. There were also well-developed secondary characters in Jane's devoted live-in lover Phil, her partner on the police force, Vic, and young Emily, who has nightmares about drowning and who has never learned how to swim.
The screenplay effectively developed greater sympathy for Cassidy and less for Jane as the drama proceeded. The director was skillful in the use of close-ups complemented by beautiful footage of the Pacific Northwest. The performances were first-rate, especially by the actresses playing the sisters.
The tension that became nearly unbearable in the home opens up in the climactic scene at Storm Lake, where Cassidy has taken young Emily with the apparent goal of ridding her of her phobia of water. But is that the true motivation of Cassidy as Jane is racing to the scene in a stolen squad car? The scene at the lake was a great unraveling of the secrets at the heart of the tale of two sisters.
Now, Cassidy comes to live with her Jane and her fiancé, Phil Martin, and Jane's daughter, Emily. There is palpable tension in every exchange between the sisters. The drama unfolds the backstory of their childhood and the tragic circumstances of the murder of Cassidy's husband. The strength of the film is a character-driven drama.
The filmmakers were successful in keeping the flashback scenes to an absolute minimum and focusing on the conflict between Jane and Cassidy. There were also well-developed secondary characters in Jane's devoted live-in lover Phil, her partner on the police force, Vic, and young Emily, who has nightmares about drowning and who has never learned how to swim.
The screenplay effectively developed greater sympathy for Cassidy and less for Jane as the drama proceeded. The director was skillful in the use of close-ups complemented by beautiful footage of the Pacific Northwest. The performances were first-rate, especially by the actresses playing the sisters.
The tension that became nearly unbearable in the home opens up in the climactic scene at Storm Lake, where Cassidy has taken young Emily with the apparent goal of ridding her of her phobia of water. But is that the true motivation of Cassidy as Jane is racing to the scene in a stolen squad car? The scene at the lake was a great unraveling of the secrets at the heart of the tale of two sisters.